Olympic cyclist, Njisane Phillip, bagged one gold and a silver medal on the final night of competition at the World Series of Bicycling event — WSB International Cycling Union (UCI) Madison Cup — which pedalled to a stop at the Valley Preferred Cycling Centre in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, USA, on Friday night.
As early as event one, Phillip affirmed himself a spot on the highest tier of the podium by emerging victorious in the Pro Men Keirin final. Receiving the silver medal was Phillip’s South African rival Bernard Esterhuizen, while Jamaica’s Marloe Rodam snatched bronze. American David Espinoza had to settle for fourth position. This win for Phillip proved crucial as he attained maximum UCI points toward his 2013/ 2014 World Cup qualification.
Later in event nine, the men’s 2km Dash For Cash, Espinoza tasted sweet revenge as he claimed top honours while Phillip crossed the finish line in runner-up position. Rodman was again third and William Pestcoe fourth.
In event three, the men’s 15km Scratch Race, Phillip’s compatriot Varun Maharaj, missed out on medalling as he finished fourth in his lone individual performance. Receiving the top prize in this event was Zachary Kovalcik while Shane Archbold and Aaron Gate took silver and bronze medals respectively.
The Rigtech Sonics duo of Phillip and Maharaj later paired for the 40- lap Preme Madison event but they fell short of a medal with a fourth place performance.
Even though the local team did not medal in this event, they were hailed by the American crowd for their gutsy effort after crashing, getting back on their bikes, winning a sprint lap, and still pocketing a prize of US$100 in this event.
And in the penultimate event, the men’s 120-lap madison, the duo once again had to settle for fourth spot overall. Winning this event was the pair of Bobby Lea/ Jackie Simes while Aaron Gate/ Shane Archbold and Eric Workowski/ Zachary Kovalcik were runners-up and third respectively.
Friday night’s racing brought to an end approximately two months of non-stop racing at the World Series of Bicycling event.
Over this July/August period, both national riders excelled at the smooth tracks with several golden, silver and bronze medal showings. Phillip stamped his authority early on when he defeated American Matthew Baranoski in the 200m sprints at the UCI Festival of Speed and the UCI Fastest Man on Wheels events.
Maharaj also won several titles at these weekly events and secured several podium finishes in the endurance and criterium races.
Phillip and Maharaj will now direct their focus to a forthcoming UCI meet in Canada.